Cited leadership reasons

QUINCY - Dick Zimbelman officially resigned from his position as the mayor of the City of Quincy Wednesday.

City Administrator Tim Snead said he submitted a letter of resignation to the city.

In the brief letter, Zimbelman wrote he was resigning due to "leadership reasons," Snead said. The letter did not emphasize the leadership issue further.

Zimbelman was unavailable for comment.

Councilmember Jose Saldana said he was surprised by his resignation.

He has enjoyed serving with Zimbelman.

"He's a smart person, he knows his stuff," Saldana said. "It's been great."

Councilmember Tony Gonzalez said he was shocked when he heard about the resignation.

"I was upset, we really need him," he said. "We didn't know anything about this."

The city's legal council advised councilmembers of the resignation after the Tuesday night council meeting.

"The city is going to miss a good man. He's a good, smart man," Gonzalez said. "He had a lot of work on his shoulders. I'm going to miss him. I'm really going to miss him, but tomorrow is another day."

Zimbelman's service to the city began when he was a councilmember from 1992 to 1995, according to the City of Quincy Web site. He began his first term as mayor in 1998.

His current term was to expire Dec. 31, 2009.

He was absent from the Tuesday night council meeting.

The mayor pro-tem is Councilmember Jim Hemberry.